Yum! Brands completes spinoff of China business; to start trading as individual company

Yum! Brands, Inc has completed the separation of Yum China Holdings, Inc (“Yum China”) from Yum! Brands and will start trading regular way as an independent company on New York Stock Exchange.

The Shanghai company, Yum China Holdings Inc., will run the KFC and Pizza Hut chains in mainland China and plans to open the first Taco Bell there before the end of this year

Yum Brands Inc., which opened its first KFC restaurant in China in 1987 and also operates Pizza Hut outlets, has been losing market share thanks to a food-safety scare, changing tastes, increasing local competition and a host of other challenges that foreign companies face in China.

The Shanghai company, Yum China Holdings Inc., will run the KFC and Pizza Hut chains in mainland China and plans to open the first Taco Bell there before the end of this year. In all, Yum China has 7,300 restaurants in China.

In connection with the separation, each Yum! Brands stockholder has received one share of Yum China common stock for each share of Yum! Brands common stock held as of the close of business on October 19, 2016.

Yum’s total share of China’s market for fast-food chains dropped to 30 percent last year, from 40 percent in 2012, according to data from Euromonitor International. While sales have been growing again in China in the mid single digits since late last year, the company has suffered as some consumers shifted to healthier options and domestic chains sprouted offering more variety.